Means for improving the definition of photographic lenses.



l v i To-oil 'whom it concern."

, trouble,' other conditions being eqn'al, lies 'in st and in the case of 'simple lenses for seldom if ever is :a short-'focus echror'natie of stops 'the v-perlif'orfani-nce ofthe,

.cameras,"more particularly those in w ich carence to so-called movinglpictnre 'cameras yan object or'objects-in motiom Such negalens 'y which the image is thrown upon the sensitive filrrLl The mathemzitiml itheo of aplanatic lenses, that is, vlenses free v:fom

such as are' .used in moving picto-re` photogspherical aberration is ,sensibly perfect'over or emmer-@ new You."

Be i-t known t mt L Henna): Clusone, a citizen ,of the'United Stu-tes residing at Cnnastotnyin the county of Indison and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useul Improvements in' hie-ans for Improving the Definition ofIh'otm aphic Lenses, of which the -followingis a ll, clez\r, 'and exact description. v

This invention relates to .photogra hic the n ative' is VInade on a flexible film in contra istinction toy a rigid plate, and the. invention has been devised with special -rcf- .for taking pictures of successive phases ci tive'sare, for practical reasons, quite small, but in exhibiting the pictures hy projection on a screen they are magnified' many fold, and it is evident that any defects in the original negniive will be eorrespondingly tutors. 4Such.defects-may ari-se from various causes, but the most fruitful source of' the s 4hex'ical aberration ofthe-photographie spherical aberration, so that all light -vrays. are A`brought'. to focus at the same lane, is .com aratively simple .and is wel underuse as reading glasses, rriagn-if 'ingglasses etc., is not specially di'fiicnlt o application in pmctic. But,where eliminatie .aberration is also to be corrected, injolvin'gtwo `or more lenses `and hence the ring 'of at leastI twice .as 'msn optical "sur aces as in the ease of a sin 'le ens, 'complicating factors are intrdu' .and the ractical problem' becomes one ofra far div -erent order; Thegnrin o f the'4 lenses .in an achromatic. aplanatic combinatiou'requires, for the pro duction of the best results, the highest'de# 'ree of skill, particul'arl in thecase 'of 'enses of comparatively sj-ort focal --length,

replay. In short it; is, I believe,a lfact that lens produced in which the correction lfor the entire image or lield, especially when the lens is with Yaperture. The use ,mais non narnovxns Denman ornofoswnlo Patented-nemo, 1913.. i

lens as regards definition -bnt effects a correi l .s-Eonding redaction 'of the' .quantity of light t r own tip-on the sensitized. surface, thereby reduces the speed of the lena.

Itis,v usually found that lenses which exhibit spherical' laberration bring ythe 1i ht andA my's to focusnot at a plan but at a. su ce 1 which is concave .toward -I e lens; or at s surface made upof concentric rings :1t-very slightly d ilerentdistance's from the in- --wh-ich latter case the lens is 'said to. suffer i i from zonal errors.- In veither ease when one part' of the-image is sharply focused on -the'lfilm or plate otherartsv are 'haz ory blurred to n greater or :ess degree. n a small negative' itself or a direct print there from, say im inchl and a half inits lon-gest dimension, this sli ht lmziness or blurring usual'lycan hardly 'detected if at vall; 'but ywhen the 4picture is enlarged, hy pro'cc- .tion upon a sensitizedpa per or other sur ooe o na screen for irectobsernatmn, 'the def fects become g-laringly' apparent. This is particularly troublesome in moving pictures,`

m'whi'ch, as before Istated, the original pie- Vtil-'reis v ery small 'and the projected image -very large.

My present invention has been devised vri-th a View to overcoming lthe defects -re' j fer'red to,-n`ot by sensibly-perfect correction o 'thelens itself, 4hut/bythe construction of the' camera in which the lens is usedand, to

this end the im'enion eonsists, 'l)rondlyferred `manner a backing the periodof exposure to' the light rays. Th'e--on't surface ofthis-bsck'+plate, that is, 'thesurface which is toward the lens is figV u red as 'nearly' as `practicablein-eogn" oi'xnjty to the fwn surface of che :ien/Siemen ser.: 1

ace can be nscertinedfaocumtely vvenoufflx Without great dilicnlt as for en -ample vthe application of pneumatic on the 'for-Ward side,- to-con'form to the surface .of .the back y late, with the results 4thatjie film isV brengt into closer confnrnty to es n carrying ont my' invention :in the pre- .i c

'or' back-plate is v .provided against which'the film rests during;

1an I noting the definition at diferent par-ts .of the i image at di-fierent distances `frio'n'l the lens; The sensitive-flexible film is th'en bisserlvby l focal. surface of the lens.' This mode oi ai zonal errors, in whi'chthe centerof the plateis convex. Fig. l4 is a section on line IV-.IV of Fig. 3. Fig. is a sectional view of' a back-plate for similar use, but in whi'ch the center of the plate is concave.A Fig. 6 is a front view of a plane back-plate for use-with a. .lens in which the spherical aberration' is practically inappreciable, for the purpose of obviating buckling. or similar distortion of the film. Fi 7 is' a section on .line VII-VII ofv ig. G. Fig. '8 is a sectional View of n modified means for producing the v pneumatic 'pressure on the l'm.-

rThe objective 1 is shonndingranunatcally in Fig. l'to indicate any lens or :sys-

3Q.tem` of lenses for projecting' an optical 'municating wi-ththe upper chamber through 95 image upon' a sensitive flexible film, :Ls for -nn aperture 15. Extendin from the vcham- 'V exam lc the moving picture ne utive film 2. ber 1-4 to the exterior of te body is' a. pas fIhe 11m iS Wound' upon a -rol or spool 2 sage 17 closed on 'the outsidel b. an elastic y Arepresem-ting diagra'mmeticallynny suitable bandwa-lvo 1 8 encircling said o dy. .Ar-

35 mechanism ordevices for passing the ln'i ranged perpendicular-ly land'aadjakvent to the 100 'through-the field of thelens.

face Vand I there-fore "make the hack-plate Atrthe rear of the lens, ,slightly hack 'of the focal sur# face or field thereof -to allow 'for 'the thick-` ness' of the film, is the back-plate or film- -si'lpp'o'rt 3. The lens 1 is assumed to have a concave instead of -a plane-field 'orfocal sun of Fig. l?" also concave. If the focal snrv ace 'or' -e dv .is convex or otherwise shaped the back-plate is'ofjcourse .figured correspendi-ugly. For instance in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are -shown a `back`plate indicative of those for -nsevvitli a lens having zonal' errors. In the plabeshown in VFigs'.V 3 and 4 the: fieldA is convex at 'the'o'enter and edges, and in Fig. 5 it' is eoncaye at such points. lgnres thediver'gence of the said film 'support from a true pla-ne is exaggerated, s0-

asto be, seen moregeasily.- In .practice thev ooncavity .on 'oonvexityg as' the case may be,

need be onIy'Slight, 1ninfin cases hardly -appreciablez -andsnce lheriinywhen, rela tively larga' amas are consid-ered, is very flexible, no' d ilculty is experienced in' that respect' in. making 'the Elm conform closely I consider vthe use of :pneumatie pressure,-

In these -tion is encircled b press-ure prkluced by exhausting the u nir back ofthe film, which case.,the vgaffective fessure is' that of thealtm'ospb'ere in former x'neth'od' isgillnstraied :nF ig. 1,'a-nd will new be described.; The `film-support or hack-plateis hollow or chnnrbercd and in its front has a suitable 75 number of apertures'l, preferably covering" substantially the entire aren occupied b the focal ima e. In communication wit the interior o thevflnf'bsu port is a. -ppe lor tube 5', communicating n so with an xm'- 8 tightjhollow c 'linder or auxiliary vacum chamber 6, an connected to the .top I of a vsuitable.aix---pui'np 8. The Vtop or .ca 7 has la. depending portion 9, in the side o which opens the passage 10 which communicates 8;,

with ,the pipe 5. The said depending por"- 4nn elastic band 1 1 of suitable material', which'ser-yes as ln valve in the mannerhereinafter described), and

is inc losed in a. chamber 1 2 formed in' the 90 upper part of the hodyl.. In the lower partio the body' isa chamber v14, preferably d'orne-s'hapf-3d or' hemisohericnl, as showm' closed by n lresiliemt-di--ap `ra-g'm 1.6, and com- 4diaphragm is a recip-rQCating'P'lunger 19,

actuated ba link 2O eonnectedto a crank disk 2l', w ich latter is 'rotated 'b any sultable in' e .ha'insm,4 not sho-Wn',v as l yco'nne vtion 'with the devicesnsuallydernployed to 105 chamberto he expelled through tlie aperture 110 l?. On retraction of the plunger the elastic diaphragniis Vreturned .to normal positionby its own resiliency, thereby drawing-air ,from the ehambered balken@ or 'einem Vport 3 through the tube-5 and passage 10, 11.5

past tlieoutwardlymovable bnndwalve 11 nndthrough the aperture 15, into-the chan1- ber'14. The vacum thus' produced inthe film-support danses the atmosphere. in .front of 'the film to the same Vhaul:.sig-ainsi: 13p i the lsupport. an .hence .into..sub`stant-ijal com.- .formity to the f 'ocul surface' of -the lens. The-exposure hav-lng been made the .li ht is';

intercepted byv a suit-able shutter-,nots own,

and the film is drawnojra new ,ennemi-@5125 all the time being held in cF-lose 'contact Awith -thexsnpport whack-plate. They-nexium is' u" of the mm to @einen me maintained by the continued. oper-ntionof the air pnmp-. In this way, by the intermittently through. .the field of' the 18o i pro rly .a'pplied tothewfilm' to the best modi; of producing the'desiied conformity if l "a .lens :n-eeen@ or bgnaerped e inequalities. einen might the .proper points. Y 1 )is before stated, the film is very flexible.

'.wliencon'sde'rnble area vthereof is acted on ably ma o greater than ju st;"su'c1ent to by the flexing. pressure,1nd hen'ce the 'force required to produce the desired conformity to 4the figure of the back-plate is eomparn tively slx ht. 0n theother' hnnd',s mall areas of `t xeflm ere practically tinyieldinwhen only vvsm-all forces are applied, en hence,l by properly proportoning the apertres 4 the desired flexuxe ofthe film with tion y the individual apertures.-

The ca' acity of the' air pump is referproduce the necessary flexxng presso-rennd compensate for leakage of air aground the edges of the back-plate into the interior of ther snme,jand advantage istnlren .of this Vexcess capacity to provide an auxilio-ry vacuum -for the lurpose 'of takin leure of .any Vn-hnormnl lea age vof air into t ey chaintiered lilm-sup ort, such as rnight be 4cinised bye splice in't e lfilm, or -a-t'ear, aiesinover' the. support. The desired resu t can tain-ed, for example, by making the cham-- bers in the -a-ir pump rather large, butt is desirable to keep the pump es co'mpact' ns mssibl'e, and I therefore provide .the clmmer 6 for' the purpose mentioned. This chamber being m communication with the' fi l m-snpportnin is exhausted from the two sim ultnneonsl y, n'nd eventually .the maximum `degree. of v ucn-um which :the 'Limp -ls cupa- A ble of producing is produce in the vbnelrlato und in 'the sind auxiliary chamber.

his degreeof vacnu-m no higher than would be produced in the system without the cylinder 6; but since the quantity of nir exhausted from the system s-great'er when the .-fsaid cylinder is vemployedt is-ev-ident. that "considerably more nir cnn leak into-the bncltplate or film-support without material eti'e'ct npon the' voeu-lim than' `would be possible if thelauxilinry chamber were not osed. No-

` normal leakage of aircantherefore occur.

i thus made to conforr'n to the surface of thefilrnsupport, eny irr'e'x-'xl'araties in the film.

4 as by -rezson fof a splice or tear .in the film, without :materially niectin'g the operationof the system if at ull. Moreover, xn bemg vare elirnmted, such, or'fexample, -nsV those due to loeal Stretching or shrinking of one 'part o f the film more than another, prod-ucmg bulges or hollo'ws, etc. This fentxre of the invention is 'of marked ndvantage, and

` may be avai-led ofnotonly where correction for aberration in the lens `is` desired, bubalso in cases where the eld of the lens -s Senf sibly plane; In such cases the back- `late or lm-supportis Hanns in Figs. 6 an 7, for

` instemmend hence the. effect. yofvtlre'en'piport i fes s t0 make the tiet,

respect to the bncklate as a' 'wholeeen;

easxl beproduced without sensible distor- .entensire with vthe/field and lign l respondenoe with the focal surface of the photographie lens, said @amera having bange-'the .rm-agee@ be blurred .er v

y Aspreviously `sta-ted', lthe pneu.- nmte-prelesure .muy be fli'Plied .b

'a *jaicumbehind the as n ready 'de-*70m l .'s'crrbed, or by actually goompressingthe 'airn ienfisemecjmaby a-z-ube 27 to a suitable 4air compressor, not yshfown. Air is thus' oom-pressed in 'ther chamber, with the 'result that the 'film is forced bnckhgainstthe sup,

eour'sefthere-wi be" more or leaseseape of air through .the Slots26,'26,bnt in no "greater amount Vthan can easily' be taken care of bythe compressor.

oftheex-pression irregular focal surface wherever it occurs, whether in the descripi -tion or intheclning'is so-regarded as tol include any surface other then the ordinary. plane surf'ce.

The invention has been v.foundto possessl marked utili-ty in practice, and while.tl 1e d eV vvines herein vshown and-described are bef lieved to be the most convenient for the yp'ri vpose in hand it is to be understood that,- the 100 rx-wention is not limited thereto Abut .is capable of embodiment in venidos .forms 'without jdplflre -fromits proper .seope -a's defined.

by the appended claims.. A Y.

VWVlmt I claim is: '.1`-. In a. photogrn-phiejeamera, the combination of a photographic lens, a film-su port. 'figured in' correspondence Withngsl f focal surface of the -photo'graphlc' lenenend means '-for effecting-a diterence in pressureug :film toeanse thev seme -to conform tothe ligure of thefsnidsnport,as set forth 2. In' n photograp 1c esmero., the eombimi@ of .a phot-@graphic llensfexhioaong sn m irr'egular focal surface, a film-sup mea-ns `for electing a difference in res 120 ysure on the oppositesdes of the -p oograph-ic vfilm over snlastentielly the enligne to' conform to. the iigone fof the port, asset; forth. A

3. 1n. a photographioeamern,the oombe nation .of e photographie lens, Aa filme-Slip# port haeingfit's front-surface inmorrespondenee 'with the focali-surreale of the .phot'grapliic -lels end l' v l I :desire it to be understood that lthe use '90.'

ies 

